Suspect to face judge in Berlin
Updated: 2012-06-06 03:40
(Agencies)
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The Canadian porn actor suspected of murdering and dismembering a Chinese student in Canada before fleeing to Europe was to be brought before a judge in Berlin on Tuesday, a day after his arrest, as authorities kicked off the process of seeking his extradition.
Luka Magnotta, 29, was arrested on Monday at an Internet cafe in a working-class district of the German capital, where he had been reading media coverage of himself. A cafe employee recognized Magnotta from a newspaper photo and flagged down a police car.
Magnotta was being held at a police detention facility in Berlin and was to be brought later on Tuesday before a judge for a decision on a formal detention order, which would keep him in custody while proceedings continue. Such hearings must be held by the end of the day following a suspect's arrest in Germany, and always take place behind closed doors.
Once a detention order is issued, German authorities can contact their Canadian counterparts regarding extradition proceedings, police spokesman Klaus Schubert said.
Magnotta is wanted by Canadian authorities on suspicion of killing Lin Jun, a 33-year-old man he dated, and mailing his body parts to two of Canada's top political parties before fleeing to Europe.
They say Magnotta filmed the murder of the Chinese student in his Montreal studio apartment and posted it online. The video shows a man with an ice pick stabbing another naked, bound man, in what police called a horrifying video.
In Germany, surveillance camera footage of the Internet cafe, obtained by The Associated Press, showed Magnotta casually walking in to the shop at noon local time, wearing jeans, a green hoodie sweater and sunglasses.
He briefly spoke to the Internet cafe's desk person, then walked off to his assigned computer with the number 25, where he would later be spotted reading the news about his case.
About two hours later, seven German police officers are seen walking into the shop, without any haste.
"I wasn't sure if it was him but then I looked at some pictures and thought, that is definitely him. He spoke French, said 'monsieur' and wanted to use the internet," Kadir Anlayisli told Reuters Television on Monday.
On the camera footage, three police officers are seen accompanying the handcuffed Magnotta a couple of minutes after they entered the cafe. Magnotta calmly walks alongside them.
Police say he at first tried giving fake names but then conceded: "You got me."
Interpol on Monday highly commended international police cooperation resulting in the swift arrest in Berlin.
The Lyon-based Interpol circulated on Thursday the Red Notice in four languages to its 190 member countries after it was believed Magnotta had fled Canada for France.
"Magnotta's arrest demonstrates the benefits of Interpol’s worldwide network of National Central Bureaus sharing information on dangerous fugitives believed to have fled abroad. Police know that the best way to catch fugitives anywhere in the world is to use Interpol’s tools and services", said the head of Interpol’s Fugitives unit, Stefano Carvelli.
The international police agency congratulated "all of the authorities and its National Central Bureaus in Canada, France, Germany and elsewhere for their collaborative efforts which led to the rapid arrest of this wanted individual", added Carvelli.
Interpol Red Notices serve to communicate to police worldwide that a person is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.
AP—XINHUA—reuters
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